Day 7: 12 Days of Frugal Stockpile Meals

Tonight I used these:

to make Cheeseburger Macaroni with a side of broccoli for dinner:

OK, I'll completely admit that it doesn't look very appetizing at all, but I can assure you it's one of my kids' favorites!  It's a filling, stick-to-your-ribs dish, especially on a cold night like tonight.
The ingredients and cost break-down are as follows:

• Wegmans 80% ground beef - $1.99 (I used a 1-pound portion of their Club Pack)
• Mueller's pasta - free (I only needed 2 cups, so there's still some left over)
• Campbell's tomato soup - $0.23
• Campbell's cheddar cheese soup - $1.39 (It kills me to buy this, but I use it in so many recipes.  I wish it would either go on sale regularly or someone would make a generic version of it!)
• Birds Eye Steamfresh broccoli - $0.67

Total cost for a meal for a family of 5: $4.28 ($0.86 per person).

Before I started my frugal stockpile meals series, I never would have guessed this would be my most expensive meal to date.  I had always thought of it as one of my cheapest meals.  This experiment has certainly been a real eye-opener for me!

Want to make this meal?  It's easy!  Brown a pound of ground beef over high heat and drain it.  Add the cans of soup, 2 cups of pasta (the recipe I have calls for shells, but as you can see I used elbows tonight, and regularly use whatever kind of pasta I have on hand), and 1.5 cups of water.  Stir well and let it come to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 10 - 12 minutes.  Stir often or the pasta will stick to the pan (just ask me how I know LOL).

Stay tuned for tomorrow's frugal meal!